A Clace Scene a Day Keeps the Demons Away
by SailorVegeta13
Summary: Post CoLS. Sebastian's back with new plots, but preparing to go to war has never been so fun (or romantic) for the Shadowhunters and their allies! Lots and lots of Clace fluff (and maybe some Malec, Simabelle, JordanxMaia too!). Will be updated daily.
1. Of Seraph Blades and Steles

Clary grinned as the glorious black demon blood bubbled up around her blade, then grimaced as some splashed onto her wrist. Even after all these years, she still wasn't quite used to the stinging sensation—more painful than the numbing of applying Marks, but less painful than sprains or breaks.

Swiftly beheading the last of their foes, Jace blinked. "You okay, Clary?" he asked without turning around.

Demon blood didn't usually hurt this much on Marked Shadowhunter skin. The redhead tried not to whimper.

Turning, the blonde noticed the set of her mouth and green eyes. In a few strides, he closed the short distance between them. "Here, let me look at it."

Biting down on her bottom lip, Clary extended her arm and pulled up her sleeve.

"Doesn't look like normal demon blood to me."

"What?"

"Could be poison—you know iratzes don't affect that kind of injury."

"But it clearly came from when I stabbed it."

"Might've been in its blood. There are demons who have poisonous blood." He gave her a curious, didn't-you-study-that? look.

"Oh yeah, I think there was something like that. . . in the. . . Codex. . ." Clary's voice trailed off as she began to feel lightheaded.

"Clary?" The alarm in her boyfriend's voice was palpable.

"I—I'm fine."

"Actually, I think the signs show that you are clearly not fine. Where are Izzy and Alec when you actually need them? They're always around at the most inconvenient times, but when their presence could actually be helpful. . ." Rolling his eyes, Jace scooped up the petite redhead. "Iratzes aren't working, but we'll be back at the Institute before you know it."

* * *

"What kind of demon was this?" Magnus asked, scrutinizing the angry red burn on Clary's wrist.

Anxiously hovering over his unconscious girlfriend, Jace made an impatient gesture. "No idea—I didn't get a very good look."

"I can try different spells, but that—"

"—wouldn't be the fastest way. Should we call on the Praetor again? I don't mind trying, though I get the feeling that Praetor Scott wouldn't be too happy with us," Jordan said, walking into the infirmary with Maia. They were holding hands, Simon noticed from his seat on the end of Clary's bed.

Suddenly remembering certain sounds he'd heard in the apartment at night, the vampire averted his eyes from his roommates, his gaze returning to his best friend. "Uh, guys? I think she's waking up."

Slightly pain-glazed green eyes regarded everyone in the room. "What's going on?" Clary asked weakly, looking around. When her eyes found Jace's, she tried to sit up.

He was next to her in the space of a heartbeat. "Lay down, Clary."

"I'll—"

"You won't be fine if you don't stop moving around."

"Jace," she hissed as his hand brushed against her injured wrist.

"I'm sorry. Are you—wait, no, that's a really stupid question to ask you."

"Looks like Ravener poison to me," offered a new voice. Clary and Jace both jumped; they hadn't noticed Alec come in.

"But don't Raveners—" began Clary.

"Usually. Unless someone's been somehow mixing their poison with other demons' blood." Jace's eyes were hard; he was probably remembering certain other blood experiments that had affected him and Clary directly.

"But who would do that?"

Izzy burst into the room, Maryse on her heels. "It's Sebastian. We found traces of the blood from the Infernal Cup near. . ."

The pallor of Clary's face was nothing to Jace's furious glower.

"We'll get him this time," vowed the best Shadowhunter of his generation.

* * *

**A/N: New story! Don't worry, I promise I'm still working on Morgenstern Pride and City of Dreams. I want to try and write a story that I can update daily (though I am completely aware that, with school already running full-force, this project is kind of risky).**

**The plot is a little cliche, I realize; hopefully my take on it will be unique enough. And I know it's short; with any luck (and free time) future chapters will be longer. Not too much fluff yet, I guess, but that should definitely improve as the plot progresses.**

**If you have any ideas or comments, please do review or PM me!**


	2. Nightmares

Cold sweat. That was the first thing Clary registered as she threw off the covers, almost falling off the narrow infirmary bed herself, wild-eyed and pale.

She was no stranger to nightmares—in fact, she was regularly tormented by visions of losing Jace—but the subject of these bad dreams was a nightmare in and of himself.

_He_ was Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern, also known as Sebastian Verlac.

Her older brother.

_It's just the demon blood—remember how his blood burned your skin?_

Pushing away the memory of his ice-white hair and bottomlessly dark eyes, Clary shivered and wrapped herself up in the blankets. Though she had a feeling it was futile, she rolled onto her side, closed her eyes, and tried to go to sleep.

* * *

"Is she getting any better?"

"Keep your voice down, Izzy. Don't wake her up."

"Well, I'm sor-ry, Jace."

As far as the Lightwood siblings could tell, the petite redhead was still sleeping, albeit fitfully.

Reassured, Isabelle crept out of the room.

Jace stayed, however, to sit beside his girlfriend and wish that he could get rid of what he knew to be the cause of her nightmares.

* * *

"Are the dreams reaching their intended targets?"

"Only one of them."

"Mother, I thought you said that they would both be affected!" Sebastian paced furiously in the dimly lit cell.

"Patience, my son. Eventually the dreams will take full effect."

"Which of them is being affected?"

Lilith hesitated, knowing that her answer would set him off. But she could never keep anything from him for very long. "Your sister, Clarissa."

Halting in his steps, the pale boy smirked. "Excellent. I can work with this."

"I take it that you wish to initiate the second stage of the plan, then?"

"But of course, Mother."

* * *

"Hello, Clarissa."

Clary gasped, backing away from the intimidating figure in front of her. "S-sebastian?"

"Yes, it is I. Did you miss me, little sister?"

"Why the hell would I miss you?"

His smirk twisted into something even less pleasant. "Are you sure that it is wise to provoke me?"

Her eyes darted left and right, taking in the scene. They were just outside the ruins of Fairchild manor.

The place where he'd first kissed her. Back before she knew who they really were to each other.

He'd known, of course. In fact, he'd delighted in the knowledge.

In her haste to get away from her brother, Clary tripped and fell backwards. If she'd had any doubts that she was dreaming, they were instantly discarded as she realized the fall didn't hurt: it had the "padded" (1) quality that Jace had described in his dream where he'd received Lilith's mark.

As she remembered the dreams Lilith had sent to Jace, something suddenly occurred to her. "Wait—I thought the Shadowhunter ritual was supposed to protect Shadowhunter minds from 'demonic influence or malevolence' (1)?"

"Are you implying that my influence is demonic?" Confidently—_arrogantly_—Sebastian closed the gap between them almost before Clary could get to her feet.

Her heart pounded in her chest; her clenched fists trembled. "What—what do you want, Sebastian?"

"Maybe I just want a sister." His mocking grin said that he remembered that conversation just as clearly as she did.

"I don't think so. What do you _really_ want?"

His tone was smug as he replied, "To finish what I started."

"Wh-what?" She should back away, try to fight him, _something!_ But Clary couldn't seem to move as her brother trapped her face between his hands.

"Remember what I said I'd do after you drank from the Infernal Cup?"

"No!"

"No, you don't remember? Because I'm more than happy to remind you—"

Clary's breath came in quick pants. She should fight back, she should run, _why was she so scared?_ She'd faced him before and held her own. Jace's life wasn't at stake anymore.

She could kill Sebastian.

Almost as though he knew what she was thinking, Sebastian smirked. "You couldn't possibly kill me, little sister."

"Want to try me?"

"In a different way, yes." He gripped her face tightly with his long, calloused fingers and leaned down.

As she tried to pull away, she suddenly found herself backed up against a tree. _Where did that come from?_

Just before his lips met hers, Clary heard her name being whispered by someone she knew and loved dearly. Mentally she reached towards the sound of Jace's voice.

The last she saw of her brother's face, his eyes were burning with bright hatred—and something else she couldn't quite identify.

* * *

Wide green eyes met concerned gold as Clary awoke with a start and a gasp.

"Calm down, Clary, I'm right here, you're okay," murmured Jace, sitting down on the end of her bed and gently brushing fiery curls from her face. "Want to talk about it?"

After checking that the room was, indeed, empty except for the two of them, Clary shook her head and climbed into his lap like a small child. Immediately she felt his arms wrap around her comfortingly.

She buried her face against his shirt, breathing in fresh air and the calming scent of Jace.

They sat like that, in silence, for a while, taking comfort in each other's presence.

* * *

(1) From City of Fallen Angels.

* * *

**A/N: So, as I promised, here's the second chapter! Much longer than the first and with definite plot, so I think that's pretty good for a day's work. ;)**

**I realize Clary's pretty OOC. But this is my current personal interpretation of her; hope it works okay for you. **

**3 followers and 4 favorites already, after a super-short chapter? Thanks so much, guys! And an especial thank-you to **_**greygirl2358**_**for reviewing! **

**Now that the story's begun to pick up pace, I think it should be easy enough for me to keep updating promptly. (Feel free to shoot me a PM if I don't!)**

**Review please! Favorite lines, comments, suggestions/ideas—I welcome them all!  
**


	3. Rain

Though the clouds were painted in various shades of gray, the scene outside the Institute was rather gloomy—and made even more miserable by the softly falling rain.

It dripped from the overhang, landing in the puddle at the feet of a sopping-wet redhead. Sighing, Clary wrung out her hair as she waited for the Lightwoods.

"Hey." Jace grinned as he closed the door behind him. "Change of plans—Alec's busy and Izzy decided she'd rather stay inside today."

"So it's just the two of us?"

Opening a medium-sized black umbrella, Jace walked down the steps to stand next to his girlfriend. "Yup." Lifting the umbrella with his left hand, he took Clary's hand in his right. "Let's go, then."

They walked in companionable silence for a while,then Jace glanced down at the snow-white bandage wrapped around Clary's wrist. "Is it getting any better?"

"Well, it doesn't hurt anymore. Not since. . . You know." Clary had already told Jace about her dream involving the ruins of Fairchild manor. . . and her brother.

His hand tightened on hers. "I see."

She glanced up at him with worried green eyes. "You think we should contact the Silent Brothers?"

"Not yet."

She cocked her head uncomprehendingly. "But. . . Why not?"

"They're going to think you've been compromised by Sebastian. And if the Silent Brothers say it's true, then that's what the Clave will believe."

"Then. . ." Clary suddenly found it hard to breathe. "What would they do to me?"

Jace hesitated. "Remember when I was. . . bound. . . to Sebastian?"

Clary gasped. "That bad?"

"Well, he is Public Enemy Number One at the moment. And after he left those angel wings in the Institute, the Clave is sure that he's got an accomplice. . ."

"So they suspect me?"

His golden eyes met hers solemnly. "You and I both know that the Clave is rarely right. But you are a Morgenstern, and you came with us without being kidnapped or anything; you gotta admit that it probably looks a little suspicious."

"But I'm the one who severed your tie to him!"

He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Clary, I know. I was there, remember?"

Silence fell again—darker, gloomier this time. They finally reached Taki's and entered, still not speaking.

* * *

"So, how did it go?" Lilith asked cheerfully, though one look at the boy's face told her all that she needed to know.

Sebastian just growled.

"I did tell you to be patient, my son."

"Isn't there a rune or something I could use?"

The mother of demons was taken aback. "A rune? For what?"

The blonde lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. "You know—to ensure that Clarissa drinks from the Infernal Cup."

"A simple Immobilization rune should be more than enough, should it not?"

Sebastian considered this. "Too risky," he decided at last. "With her talent with runes, there's no telling what will happen."

"Even if you do not wish to use a rune, it should be simple enough for you to overpower her. Besides, your blood in contact with hers makes her more vulnerable to you."

"Does it?"

"Surely you noticed that last night, Jonathan."

Thinking back to how close he'd gotten last night, Sebastian snarled in frustration. "If it wasn't for Jace. . ."

* * *

**A/N: A bg thank-you to everyone who's favorites/is following this story! and virtual cookies to everyone who's reviewed!**

**Okay, I realize this isn't my best work but I didn't have much free time today. All-day rehearsal is a drag, especially when it's pouring. I actually wrote most of this urging my lunch break, though I really should have taken the chance to finish my homework. (You're welcome.) **

**And if it seems incomplete, it's because I kind of ran out of time. I think it's still better than nothing, though. Hopefully tomorrows's chapter will be better!**

**I wrote all this on my phone and haven't gotten a chance to proofread yet, so I apologize for any and all errors in this chapter. If I get a chance (which, just for the record, isn't very likely) I'll edit and replace this chapter. **

**Maybe I don't really deserve them for such a crappy chapter, but review? Oh, and if you have a request for a oneshot/scene I'd be happy to post one attached to (at the end of) to the next chapter!**


	4. Sketch

Almost midnight on a normal weeknight. Or it would have been, if all the New Yorkers—mundanes and Shadowhunters alike—had been asleep as usual. But at least one young Shadowhunter was awake, mind racing a million miles a minute.

Clary sighed softly. Thanks to Jocelyn's return to overprotectiveness wherever Jace was concerned, the teenager hadn't gotten to see her boyfriend all day. In fact, she hadn't seen him since Taki's yesterday. They hadn't parted on a high note—but at least it hadn't been a fight. Not a real one, anyway.

She knew that he wouldn't be able to stay away for very long, though.

And her suspicions were proved to be completely correct when, just a few minutes later, a soft tap came at her window.

Grinning, she sneaked across the room to lock her door before letting her boyfriend in.

"MIss me?"

"Like you wouldn't believe."

He smirked. "That's why I'm here."

Quietly he climbed through the window, and she noticed that he wasn't in gear. In fact, he was wearing a thin white cotton T-shirt and pajama bottoms.

"You walked down the street in those?"

"I know, it's a wonder I wasn't held up by hordes of raving teenage girls."

Clary shook her head and sat down on the edge of her bed. "Spend the night with me?"

Something—lust, perhaps?—flashed in her boyfriend's golden eyes, darkening them momentarily. But he hesitated before agreeing.

Relaxing with her head on her favorite pillow, Clary lazily reached out towards Jace. "Come to bed, then. It's late., and all I really want to do right now is sleep."

"Am I that boring? That's rather disappointing. And it's not really something that a guy wants to hear from his girlfriend, you know?" Nonetheless, he lay down obligingly next to her.

"Shush," she mumbled, closing her eyes and rolling over onto her side.

Gently he reached out, pulling her against him. Instantly he felt her tense muscles relax.

"Good night, Jace."

"Good night, Clary."

* * *

Jonathan Morgenstern, also known as Sebastian Verlac, reached out through his mental bond with his sister and discovered—not to his surprise, as it really was quite late—that she was asleep.

Asleep and vulnerable.

His devious grin sent shivers down his subordinates' spines—not that he noticed; after all, he was far above such matters. Subordinates existed only to do his bidding, to complete the trivial tasks that would be a waste of his precious time. Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern was, after all, destined for bigger and better things than, say, paying rent on his apartment.

Not that he would have needed to, anyway, after terrorizing the owner—who was, fortunately, a member of the Shadow World and thus became terrified as soon as he realized Valentine Morgenstern's son was in the room—into letting him and his associates occupy the top floor, free of charge. The terrified man had complied immediately, almost eagerly—anything to get this demon away from him.

Jonathan looked up at the sketch he'd hung on his bedroom wall. It was a mess of rough pencil lines, uncolored and unrefined. After all, he'd had to steal it before its completion—he hadn't been sure whether he'd have gotten another chance.

It was a new addition to the room, but a welcome one—it lent something of beauty to the chaos of carelessly-strewn clothes and possessions cluttering up the floor. The sketch held a sort of raw beauty in its lack of completeness, though that was hardly surprising.

After all, it was one of Clarissa Morgenstern's sketches of Idrisian landscape.

* * *

"Jace?"

"Hm?"

"Did you take my sketchbook?"

He opened his eyes. "No. Why?"

Clary sat up. Her suddenly-scared green eyes held his golden ones. "Because I couldn't find it when I got back from Taki's, so I figured you must have it. I haven't been with anyone else today, and I'd know if I dropped it."

"Do you think—?"

"It's not possible." But she was shaking.

Jace pulled her back against him, and her trembling gradually slowed and ceased altogether. "Of course it wasn't him. Are you sure you didn't just leave it in your room?"

"I'm positive that I brought it with me today; there was this one sketch I wanted to get your opinion on. . ." Even so, Clary got up and rifled through the books on her desk, freezing when a black hardcover journal caught her eye. "It's right here. . . on my bookshelf."

"Well, isn't that fine, then?"

She looked terrified now. "I never leave it on my bookshelf. I-it must have been, I-I mean, h-he must have. . ."

"Are you missing any pages?" Jace joined her at the desk, wrapping a reassuring arm around her waist.

Her body relaxed against his. "I don't think—" she began, flipping through the pages. Then she paused. "Oh, no!"

"What's wrong?"

"M-my sketch of Idris, the one I meant to show you. . . it's gone." Silent tears streaked down her pale face.

"I promise you we'll figure it out tomorrow, okay? But you really should get some sleep now; I can tell you haven't been sleeping well lately. . ."

Though sleep was one of the farthest things from her mind at the moment, she let him pull her back under the covers. And as he entwined his legs with hers, he was gratified to hear the slowing of her breath that meant that she was asleep.

* * *

**A/N: First of all, I just realized that I should point something out. If you review my other fics and are used to my replying, I apologize that it hasn't happened for this fic. I don't really have time to reply to reviews anymore, and besides, I update daily anyway ;)**

**It's getting late, and I still have homework. (I am one of those people who hate Mondays, by the way.)**

**Reading some reviews would be a nice way to start tomorrow, if you guys would oblige?**

**And hey, here's a deal for you guys: if we can hit 15 (or more!) reviews before the next chapter comes out, then I'll post a pure-Clace oneshot (no less than 2,000 words). Or maybe a two-shot. Or two oneshots. . . I might even take requests ;)**


	5. Central Park

Jace sneaked out, first thing in the morning. After all, Jocelyn wasn't supposed to know that he'd been in the house—let alone in her daughter's bed—last night. All the same, it was a pity, thought Jace, not to take advantage of the moment. . .

. . .and snap a picture of Clary's calmly angelic sleeping face. Contentedly saving the snapshot to the file storage on his cell phone (which he really only used to call and text his girlfriend), the young Shadowhunter let himself out the same way he'd come in—through the window.

Once safely on the ground, he texted his girlfriend to let her know where he planned to wait for her. With a romantic surprise, of course.

* * *

"Central Park, huh?" Sebastian smirked. "What say we set up a nice. . . welcome. . . for my dear little brother?"

"And your sister?" asked the vampire hungrily. Of course he had seen pictures of the girl; his master was hardly secretive about his desire, his need to possess the redhead.

"No, you don't touch her. I'll take care of her." The Shadowhunter growled with pleasure, indulging briefly in certain of his oft-repeated fantasies, then scowled as a thought occurred to him. "Where Jace goes, Clarissa will doubtlessly follow."

"What are you planning, son?"

His devious grin returned. "I prefer not to say, Mother—I get the distinct feeling that you wouldn't appreciate the details. Or any information on this, for that matter."

Before Lilith could answer, Sebastian's computer beeped. He sighed in pleasure as he regarded the zoomed-in picture—stolen from the memory of Jace's phone—occupying the screen. "Clarissa Morgenstern, my beautiful one, my sister. You truly are an angel."

* * *

" 'Meet me in Central Park at midnight'?" Clary giggled softly, wondering what Jace was planning and also remembering a certain night in the Institute greenhouse. Then she was all seriousness as she tried to figure out how to convince Jocelyn to let her go.

Clary doubted that she'd be able to sneak out. They'd gotten extremely lucky last night, and trying for a second night in a row was really just pushing it, tempting Fate to get them caught and banned from seeing or even contacting each other.

Then she realized, she had the perfect excuse. She was a Shadowhunter, was she not?

* * *

11:55 p.m., with no sign of the reckless blonde.

The petite teenage girl glanced around their favorite spot, wondering if maybe her boyfriend had gotten held up for whatever reason. It wouldn't be the first time—Jace was usually punctual, but of course he could never resist chasing after any demons that had the misfortune of crossing his path.

Minute after minute ticked away; Clary kept track of the passing time by the position of the moon. As she realized that she was doing so, she was saddened by the realization that Jace had been the one to teach her how to read time by the shadows.

At 12:03 precisely (Clary knew this from her cell phone clock, not from the moon's position) he finally showed up.

"Hey."

"Sorry I'm late."

"Caught up in a demon chase?" she inquired knowingly.

He grinned ruefully. "Half right—it wasn't a demon, it was a vamp."

"A vampire? Then. did you—"

"It wasn't Simon, first of all—"

"—I know that—"

"—so don't freak out. Anyway, it kinda jumped me out of nowhere—"

"—girl or boy vampire?"

"—girl, so I was originally unsure; after all, you're obviously not the only one who finds me irresistibly attractive—" He chuckled as she punched him in the arm. "In any case, she kinda tried to kill me, so of course I had to fight back. Pulled a seraph blade, she ran, chased her down, won the fight." Jace shrugged, that all-in-a-night's-work shrug that all Shadowhunters—especially the teenagers—seemed to perfect over time.

"So." Clary cleared her throat, suddenly half-wishing that her boyfriend wasn't a Shadowhunter. There were few things that got Jace more excited than describing a hunt, and sometimes she almost felt like she couldn't compare to the thrill of besting a vampire's Downworlder strengths. "Why am I here again?"

"Figured you'd like to do this." Grinning, he pulled a brown-paper bag from behind his back. "Since the greenhouse is occupied."

"But. . ." Clary suddenly remembered what he'd said last time. "Isn't this place supposed to be full of faeries at this time?"

"Yeah, well, there's muggers too." He winked at her.

He sat down on the dewy grass, smiling. She sank down gracefully next to him as he dumped out the contents of the bag: cheese sandwiches, apples, a bottle of water, and a bar of Hershey's milk chocolate.

"Out of fruit and nut chocolate?" Clary guessed, remembering—yet again—their first picnic in the Institute greenhouse.

"Nah, I just like milk chocolate better."

She picked up the Hershey's and unwrapped it. Snapping off a square, she popped it into her mouth and grinned. "Me too."

He lightly tossed a sandwich at her. "Don't spoil your appetite."

"Appetite?" She laughed. "It's literally midnight, and you expect me to have an appetite?"

"Well, you are a growing teenager," he deadpanned.

"As are you."

"Yes, and I am hungry. See?" he remarked through a mouthful of cheese sandwich.

She swatted him with her own sandwich. "Don't talk with your mouth full!"

"Sorry."

They ate in silence—Clary wouldn't ever admit it, but when it came to Jace's cheese sandwiches she actually was always hungry—but it was a pleasant, companionable silence.

A pair of cold black eyes watched them angrily from behind a tree, but even Jonathan Morgenstern couldn't bring himself to destroy his sister's happy moment with Jace. Angel knew she'd have few enough of them, once his plan was put into action.

* * *

**A/N: Never been to Central Park, so the scene is straight out of my imagination.**

**Not too much plot—though of course I had to include Sebastian/Jonathan; he's awesome—but hopefully enough plot to satisfy most of you.**

**Don't have much time left—gotta leave for practice soon. I'll just end the author's note with this thought:**

**You guys didn't manage to hit 15 reviews, so I apologize: the oneshot will not be up this chapter. Maybe next chapter, if you guys can leave a total of 20 reviews?**


	6. Life or Death

The worn pink cell phone lay on Clary's bedside table. She stared at it, willing it to ring. Or buzz with the reception of a text.

Nothing.

This had been going on for half an hour now. Clary was relieved—no, glad—that she wasn't a student at St. Xavier's anymore, because there was no chance she could have completed any homework tonight. Actually, she would have flunked out of a few classes by now, with her inability to focus on anything unrelated to Shadowhunting, or more specifically, Jace.

Her phone still hadn't rung. It hadn't buzzed either, or shown in any way that someone had tried to get in touch with her.

He promised that he'd call.

What was going on? Had his sister—?

Suddenly the phone began vibrating violently, the screen lit up with a single name. Lunging for it, Clary smiled in relief as she glanced at the caller ID and accepted the call. "So, what's the big secret?"

"I said I'd tell you later, didn't I? Damn, I knew I'd regret it."

The redhead sighed. "Just say it!"

"Fine, fine! Um, well. . . Our band has a performance this weekend and Jordan's out of town with Maia."

"Simon, you liar. You told me it was a matter of life or death!"

"It is!"

"Explain to me how you figure that one."

"How are we supposed to perform without a lead singer? Our fans would skin us alive!"

"You have fans? Well, whatever; just do whatever you did before Jordan joined your crappy band." By this point Clary was getting a bit bored.

"No one comes to listen to our horrible vocals! They all want Jordan's singing!"

"I give up. But anyway, what do you expect me to do about it?"

Immediately she knew she'd walked right into his trap.

"So, Eric wants—"

"Absolutely not."

"You haven't even heard what I was going to say."

"Don't need to. I know you guys want Jace to fill in."

"Damn, woman, you read my mind."

"It's not gonna happen."

"Oh, Clary. It is happening."

A beat of silence. Then:

"What?!"

"Yeah, so, well, I already, um, asked Jace to, eh, fill in. And he, well, said, you know, yes." Simon's excessive stuttering would have been funnier if he hadn't been so rightly afraid of Clary's reaction.

Yet contrary to his expectations, the Shadowhunter girl's voice was cold as she replied. "And why would my boyfriend agree to do this?"

"I, ah, well, I may have, um, told him that, ah, you wanted him to do it?"

Clary sighed. "You realize you've given me no choice but to attend this concert?"

"Weren't you going anyway?"

"Not necessarily—I would've skipped if Jace and I made plans."

"Nice to know, Fray. I mean, ditching my concerts to go on dates? You're an awesome best friend."

"Glad you realize that. I'll see you there, and you better hope that no stupid skanks try and seduce my boyfriend. If they don't keep their distance from Jace, I'll hold you personally responsible."

The vampire boy gulped as his best friend hung up.

* * *

**A/N: Ahh! Sorry for the late update! This is actually yesterday's chapter, but I didn't get a chance to post it. And yes, I will be posting today's chapter as well. So my chapter count is still consistent with my quota ;)**

**Um, yeah. More of a Clary/Simon [transition] chapter, but hey, at least Jace's name was dragged into the conversation ^-^**

**Review?**


	7. Waiting

The concert wasn't for a few days, and in the meantime Clary had nothing to do.

Jace and the other Lightwoods were out of town—some social function in Idris that Clary hadn't been invited to attend. Luke and Jocelyn were busy doing something or other in the bookstore, and the redheaded teenager didn't really want to intrude on them. Simon's band was doing intensive practice in preparation for their performance with the Jace Wayland.

So the only thing Clary could really do was sit. And wait.

* * *

**A/N: I know, I know, inexcusably short. I promise I'll make up for it with much longer chapters this weekend—and maybe a City of Dreams update, since that's the story people keep reminding me about. **

**Look, guys, when I say I'm under a lot of school stress, that applies to my CoD-writing time as well. And in case you're wondering why I have to update this fic when I can't even finish one CoD or MP chapter in two months, it's because this story is just easier to write. I can hit 1,000 words for Clace Scene in maybe 15-20 minutes, whereas for another story it would take at least a few days. **

**This chapter's not worthy, but review? At least let me know if you even want me to continue this story, and/or if you think I should take a break from Clace Scene to update City of Dreams or Morgenstern Pride. **


	8. Concert

Finally giving up on making productive use of the day, Clary looked out the window and was surprised to notice that the sun was setting. Where had the time gone? She'd been anticipating a long, dull, boring day—and yet, said day was already over. How anticlimactic.

The petite redhead gently set aside her sketchbook and put away her drawing pencils, then tucked her iPod into the back pocket of her jeans, heading for the bathroom. There wasn't much left of today anyway, so she might as well just go to sleep.

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Of course she had an acute attack of insomnia as soon as she lay down in bed and closed her eyes. Tomorrow was Simon's band's big day, yes, and she was certainly excited for them; but she was more anxious to see—well, hear—her boyfriend perform. After all, was there anything Jace Wayland couldn't do?

Plus, in addition to naturally being excited to see him, Clary was worried about the fawning girls who would doubtless try and seduce her boyfriend. She scowled, imaging the scene. Anyone could have told her that the scene being roughly sketched in her mind's eye was blown way out of proportion, and she knew it herself. But then again, anyone who had ever been out in any public area with the hot blond Shadowhunter could attest to how he seemed to attract girls like nobody's business.

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Looking around at all of Simon's nerd friends—well, all of them except one certain hot redhead who happened to be the secret star guest for tomorrow's performance, and was thus prohibited from attending today's rehearsal—Jace sighed and wondered, not for the first or even the twentieth time, what he was doing here.

It was, by now, beyond a doubt true that Simon had lied about Clary wanting him to help out—no, not just help out: perform; call it like it is, Jace chided himself—at the upcoming concert. In fact, Clary had made it completely crystal clear that she most certainly did not want him to be there in the room at all, much less on the stage with all those girls' eyes on him.

And maybe he would even have found it funny, if it wasn't for the fact that she was clearly so upset that Simon would resort to such means in order to get him to agree.

It wasn't characteristic of the bloodsucker; no matter how much he enjoyed being in the crappy band—it seemed Jace only ever agreed with Jordan on the topics of Simon and his band—the used-to-be-a-mundane boy usually put Clary's well-being and happiness before his own interests. And surely he'd have known that Clary wouldn't like Jace performing with the band; Simon had known the girl for over ten years!

And that, no matter how much the young Shadowhunter hated it, was the cold, hard fact: Simon had known Clary for much longer than Jace had.

"Now it's finally the moment you've all been waiting for. . . Please welcome the Fortuitous Occurrences to the stage!"

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I knew it. The petite redhead glanced around the room, and sure enough, almost all the girls were gaping at her boyfriend, who had taken up a position, center stage. Jace was giving the audience his trademark "You know you want me" look as he sang, and even though anyone who was thinking straight would know that that wink was all for Clary, over two-thirds of the room's inhabitants swooned.

I can't take this any longer.

Clary set down her coffee—none too gently—and stood up.

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**A/N: So... *clears throat* I'm back! Not dead, not hurt (mostly...) and clearly not forgivable for leaving you guys hanging. Sorry for the super super late update; life's getting almost hectic. Tests, homework, quizzes... does it never end? (No, whatever you do, don't you dare answer that!)**

**Another short chapter, and a cliffie too... in my defense, I've been working on this since I ended the last chapter, snatching precious free time between homework and rehearsals and club meetings and whatnot. I even work on it when I'm out with my family.**

**Real lack of reviews lately... I get that my inconsistent (to put it mildly) updating schedule is off-putting and probably somewhat annoying, but I don't update if it doesn't seem like people are interested. If this story doesn't get much feedback (and followers don't count, since I turned off Plus Alerts and therefore I have no idea what my relative follower/favorite count for this story is) then I may put it on hiatus for real or even discontinue it in favor of Morgenstern Pride and/or City of Dreams.**

**In other words, review if you want me to keep going; review if you don't want me to keep going, review if you want me to keep going but also work on MPride or CoD, etc. Pretty please, with Jace on top?**


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